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Prep the other parts Trim the sides. Rip the drawer sides to the same width as the drawer front. Curry marks the end of each piece to keep track of its mating part and orientation. choose the wood for your drawer fronts (and case) carefully. I’m talking not only about species but also grain orientation. I nearly always use rift- or quartersawn stock for drawer fronts, not only for stability, but because I prefer its straight-grained look. When possible, I also choose a species that has a low shrinkage rate. Old favorites like walnut, cherry, and mahogany make great primary woods for the case and drawers. They’re attractive, relatively easy to work, and wellmannered. Some less-common woods, such as butternut, sassafras, and red alder, also are easy to work and stable. And softwoods such as baldcypress, Alaska yellow cedar, and fine-grained Douglas fir are stable and quite attractive, especially when quartersawn. There really are quite a few options, but you should investigate the shrinkage values before deciding. It’s hard to buy Square the ends. To make sure you don’t build a twisted drawer, shoot the front ends of corresponding drawer sides, two at a time so they match. Re-label them if necessary. rift- or quartersawn wood in most species, so I often cut Match the back to the front. After ripping the back narrower (see p. 43), lay the drawer front on it, lining up the top edges. Then scribe the ends of the drawer back to match—both length and angle—and use the tablesaw and shooting board to trim them precisely. 46 FINE WOODWORKING drawer fronts from the outer edges of wide boards (14 in. to 16 in.). The growth rings on that part of the board are usually about 45° to the face or steeper. I use the flatsawn piece left over in the middle for the drawer rails in the case. Since the edge of this piece is actually quartersawn, it matches up quite nicely with the straight grain and color of the drawer fronts. Smart choices for the rest of the drawer—Traditionally, furniture makers have used a secondary wood for the drawer interior. This was mostly for economic reasons, but I think it also looks better. And it al- lows you to choose a wood that might have more appropriate qualities for the role it will play. My favorite wood for drawer interiors is butternut. It’s very stable, easy to work, and attractive. My second choice is eastern white pine. It doesn’t look quite as nice as butternut, but it is more stable. In general, softer woods like these tend to be the most stable. They’re a bit soft for the sides of large drawers, but it’s easy to add a thin piece of a harder wood to the bottom edge as a wear strip. That way you get the stability and workability of the softer wood and the wearresistance and easier sliding of the harder. Avoid woods like elm, sycamore, and tupelo that have interlocked grain. They’ll be difficult to handplane and are prone to warping. Also avoid woods with high shrinkage values like birch, beech, and hickory. When cutting out the second- ary wood for my drawer parts, I use the best-looking quartersawn or riftsawn sections for the sides. I want straightgrained, mild-mannered pieces that will plane smoothly. The next best pieces are used for the backs. If the bottom is big from front to back, I’ll glue up quartersawn pieces to reduce movement; if not, I’ll use flatsawn stock. Prepping drawer stock Start by rough-cutting all of the pieces—fronts, sides, backs, and bottoms—slightly oversize in all directions. I leave at least 1 in. or 2 in. of extra length and about ⁄4 in. of extra width. Mill the wood, starting at the jointer and then thickness-planing the pieces about 1⁄ 6 in. heavy (a bit thicker with wider parts that might cup, like a flatsawn bottom). It’s best to plane the same amount off of both faces when possible. This is part of the old adage about